Oman has announced the suspension of all direct passenger flights from the UK starting March 19 as part of efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The state media added that passengers who have transitted through the UK in the last two weeks will also be banned from entry.
The move, which will exempt Omani nationals and cargo flights, will come into effect from noon on Friday.
The country’s coronavirus committee has also renewed the order to close all commercial activities in the sultanate from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am until April 3.
Exemptions will be made for fuel stations, home delivery services, health institutions, pharmacies, and some factories.
A 70 per cent capacity limit will also be introduced in some government offices from March 21 to April 1.
So far, the country has recorded a total of 148,558 infections and 137,544 recoveries. Fatalities stood at 1,617.
Australia on Thursday passed into law a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said, as forces stepped up bombardments on central areas and pushed tanks deeper in the north and south of the enclave.
Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone.
Indonesian rescuers are searching for passengers trapped in a minibus buried in mud after flash floods and landslides hit several locations in North Sumatra province, killing at least 27, an official said on Thursday.
Syrian armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an attack on regime forces in the last opposition enclave in northern Syria on Wednesday, seizing territory in the first such advance in years, army and rebel sources said.
Broadcasting every weekday, Georgia Tolley goes beyond the headlines to speak to government ministers, decision makers, analysts and local experts to find out how the news will impact those of us living in the UAE.
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